April marks the anniversary of John Winthrop’s sermon delivered to his fellow Puritans aboard the Arabella before landing in the New World in 1630. Its most famous line was the modified words of Jesus designed for the occasion: “We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all the people are upon us.” The phrase, “A city upon a hill," comes from the parable of salt and light in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. In Matt. 5:14, Jesus tells His listeners, "You are the light … [Read more...]

I like to call them mild sugar cravings. And yet, there I go. Shooting out of the car, across the kitchen, and diving for the pantry. I need chocolate, ya’ll. I’m like a treat-seeking missile. That bag of chocolate chips in there? Target acquired. Locked on. Give me a minute and those things are gone.
Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but my mild sugar cravings have been known to choose my Sunday School class for me. Anyone else ranking classes according to donuts?
“She’s a good teacher and … [Read more...]

I have been to a lot of conferences in my time. (I have always liked attending conferences and learning from others. I especially like learning from their mistakes so I can pursue my life goal of constantly making new mistakes, rather than repeating the same ones over and over again).
So, in my new role of serving you in the areas of development, management and distribution of financial resources while encouraging generosity, in order to Advance the Gospel, a whole new genre of conferences … [Read more...]

Forty years ago, a war raged for the very soul of Southern Baptists. This war was not fought for riches or fame, but instead for the truth once delivered for all the saints – the iner-rancy and sufficiency of Scripture. This doctrinal war is best remembered as the Conservative Resurgence, which resulted in Southern Baptist churches and institutions returning to and treasuring biblical truth.
And yet, while many Southern Baptists believe the Bible is without error (inerrancy), many … [Read more...]

I’ve learned a lot from Glenn Sunshine, the longest-serving faculty member of the Colson Fellows Program, and a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University. Glenn not only gets history, he also really gets worldview and, even better, how worldview and history are related.
On Monday night, as I was trying to make sense of the tragedy of the burning of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, I learned again from Dr. Sunshine. Part of my sadness was that I’ve never visited this … [Read more...]

“Less is more . . .”
I knew what the pastor meant in his words to me at a conference that I spoke at recently. He was talking about having worship be simpler, more direct. But, as I pointed out to him, he misspoke.
A movement in the church is a desire to return it to its primordial mode of Acts 2. The background research is excellent, and I think that its model closely portrays the early Christian church. In view of the Simple Church movement, where does the act of worship fall?
Simple? … [Read more...]

For some reason, pastors really like to preach in their own pulpits on Resurrection Sunday. When I served as a local church pastor, I felt the same way. This year, however, I’m in the pew on the Sunday that commemorates the most important event in human history: the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Allow me to share with you some obscure insights about the resurrection of our Lord. Let’s use Mark 16 as our text, and notice the question posed by the women going out to visit the grave … [Read more...]

I visit the State Capitol when the Missouri General Assembly is in session, but less than 10 percent of my time is involved talking to lawmakers about legislation that will impact Missouri Southern Baptists. Since no Baptist speaks for all Baptists, I generally limit my activity to what I call the “Big Five” issues: the sanctity of life, the family, advocating for victims of sex/human trafficking, promoting adoption/foster care and protecting religious liberty.
Why those five? Because they … [Read more...]

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – I Corinthians 13:13 (NKJV)
In stressing the importance of love, it is easy to underemphasize the importance of hope for children. Without hope, children often lose purpose and become very unhappy.
There are symptoms to watch for in children when they lose hope. It is helpful to know the things that cause them to have no hope. What can parents do about the problem?
Children who lose hope often have … [Read more...]

You don’t have to work in a church or go to a distant “mission field” to be actively involved in ministry and missions. The staff at Missouri Baptist Children’s Home believes they are called by God to minister to hurting children, youth and families in Missouri. They sincerely believe they are missionaries, just like those serving in what we traditionally think of as “mission fields.”
To be an MBCH missionary, you don’t need a theological degree. You don’t need to be ordained. You often … [Read more...]

One of the goals people might be working on now is being sure their tax preparation is completed by the April 15 deadline. Once a person has filed the 2018 tax returns, the next best goal to set and accomplish is to make or review your estate plans. With the most complete and current picture of one’s financial affairs in mind, now is a good time to give yourself the “peace of mind” by having a plan that cares for family and the ministries and/or charities that are loved and respected. It is … [Read more...]

Confession time. Sometimes when I’m driving and realize I’m lost, I automatically turn down the radio. It’s not so I can hear the GPS. I turn down the radio even when there’s no GPS. Why do I do it? Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe it’s so I can more clearly hear what “lost” sounds like? Of course, if I had to guess what lost sounds like, I’d guess it makes an I-should-pull-in-here-for-coffee sound. If I listen hard enough, I can hear extra whip.
Want to know what else I do without thinking? … [Read more...]

Ethics

MBC Executive Director John Yeats: “We must remain vigilant until every child is safe in his/her mother’s womb. We must also be much more caring for every mother whose life circumstances are so tragic that she would contemplate a medical procedure or abortifacient to end her child’s life.”